1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to double-gated Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETS) that provide increased current drive per layout width and low output conductance.
2. Background Description
Field Effect Transistor (FET) structures may include a single gate (a single channel) or a pair of gates (a pair of channels), with double-gate versions providing the advantage of having an increased current carrying capacity. A number of horizontal double-gate FET structures, and particularly SOI double-gate FET structures, have been proposed. These structures typically require a bottom gate formed beneath the thin silicon body in addition to a conventional top gate. The fabrication of such structures is difficult because the top and bottom gates must be aligned to a tolerance beyond the accuracy of state of the art lithographical equipment and methods, and because self-aligning techniques are frustrated by the layers between the top and bottom gates.
In xe2x80x9cSelf-Aligned (Top and Bottom) Double-Gate MOSFET With a 25 nm Thick Silicon Channelxe2x80x9d, by Hon Sum Philip et al., IEDM 97-427, IEEE 1997, a double-gated MOSFET is considered the most promising candidate for a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) scaled to the ultimate limit of 20-30 nm gate length. Rigorous Monte Carlo device simulations and analytical calculations predicted continual improvement in device performance down to 20-30 nm gate length, provided the silicon channel thickness can be reduced to 10-25 nm and the gate oxide thickness is reduced to 2-3 nm. However, the alignment of the top and the bottom is crucial to high performance because a mis-alignment will cause extra gate to source/drain overlap capacitance as well as loss of current drive.
In the double-gated MOSFET field, vertical structures such as the surrounding gate or pillar transistor and DELTA device require a lithographic and pattern transfer capability at least four times more stringent than the minimum gate length in order to control the required silicon channel thickness. On the other hand, the planar structures, which have been the norm of the Integrated Circuit (IC) industry to date are easier to manufacture than vertical structures. However, the double-gate MOSFET with a planar structure either does not have perfectly aligned gates, or did not have a source/drain fan-out structure that is self-aligned to the gates.
The following patents pertain to FETs, and particularly to the double-gated FETs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,327, by Chu et al. and entitled xe2x80x9cVertical Double-Gate Field Effect Transistorxe2x80x9d describes a vertical double-gate field effect transistor, which includes an epitaxial channel layer and a drain layer arranged in a stack on a bulk or SOI substrate. The gate oxide is thermally grown on the sides of the stack using differential oxidation rates to minimize input capacitance problems. The gate wraps around one end of the stack, while contacts are formed on a second end. An etch-stop layer embedded in the second end of the stack enables contact to be made directly to the channel layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,331 by Solomon et al. and entitled xe2x80x9cMethod for Making Single and Double Gate Field Effect Transistors With Sidewall Source-Drain Contactsxe2x80x9d describes a method for making single-gate and double-gate field effect transistors having a sidewall drain contact. The channel of the FETs is raised with respect to the support structure underneath and the source and drain regions form an integral part of the channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,038 by Tiwari et al. and entitled xe2x80x9cSelf-Aligned Dual Gate MOSFET with an Ultranarrow Channelxe2x80x9d is directed to a self-aligned dual gate FET with an ultra thin channel of substantially uniform width formed by a self-aligned process. Selective etching or controlled oxidation is utilized between different materials to form a vertical channel extending between source and drain regions, having a thickness in the range from 2.5 nm to 100 nm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,802 to Mayer et. al. and entitled xe2x80x9cSilicon-on-Insulator Gate-All-Around MOSFET Fabrication Methodsxe2x80x9d describes an SOI gate-all-around (GAA) MOSFET which includes a source, channel and drain surrounded by a top gate, the latter of which also has application for other buried structures and is formed on a bottom gate dielectric which is formed on source, channel and drain semiconductor layers of an SOI wafer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,999 to Gotou and entitled xe2x80x9cMOS FET Having a Thin Film SOI Structurexe2x80x9d describes a MOS FET having a thin film 501 structure in which the breakdown voltage of an MIS (Metal Insulator Semiconductor) FET having an SOI structure is improved by forming the gate electrode on the top surface and two side surfaces of a channel region of the SOI layer and by partially extending the gate electrode toward the inside under the bottom of the channel region such that the gate electrode is not completely connected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,127 to Chu et al. and entitled xe2x80x9cVertical Double-Gate Field Effect Transistorxe2x80x9d describes a vertical double-gate FET that includes a source layer, an epitaxial channel layer and a drain layer arranged in a stack on a bulk or SOI substrate. The gate oxide is thermally grown on the sides of the stack using differential oxidation rates to minimize input capacitance problems. The gate wraps around one end of the stack, while contacts are formed on a second end. An etch-stop layer embedded in the second end of the stack enables contact to be made directly to the channel layer.
The key difficulties in fabricating double-gated FETs are achieving silicidation of thin diffusions or polysilicon with acceptable contact resistance, enabling fabrication of the wraparound gate without misalignment of the two gates, and fabrication of the narrow diffusions (ideally, 2-4 times smaller than the gate length).
The lithographically defined gate is by far the simplest, but suffers from a number of disadvantages. First, definition of the gate may leave poly spacers on the side of the diffusions or may drive a required slope on the side of the diffusion, thereby resulting in a poorer quality and/or more poorly controlled device. Second, the slope of the poly inherently leads to difficulty in forming silicided gates, leading to slower device performance. Finally, the poly step height poses a difficult problem for lithographic definition, as we expect steps on the order of 100 nm-200 nm in a 50 nm design rule technology.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a self-aligned dual-gated SOI MOSFET.